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Saturday, 8 September 2012

La Conquète de la Corse: Day 3

June 26, 2012

Porto to Santo Pietro di Venaco

Leaving behind our excellent hotel in Porto, our third day
in Corsica saw us leaving the coast and heading inland.Of course the road immediately began climbing
(I guess when it is so hot you don’t need a normal warm-up) and we were soon
ascending steadily through a dry but, in many places, shady region, with fine
views out over the valleys we passed.Once again we saw very little traffic but as we passed seldom through
any villages en route that was perhaps not so surprising.

After 12 kms or so of climbing we came into a forested
reserve, the Aïtone, and I began to feel the effects of the heat and the
climb quite a bit.I eased back and
watched as Greg and Tom easily cruised by me and I eventually joined up with
Terry and we came to a village where the van was waiting with water and food
for those who needed it, an excellent opportunity for a break.Terry and I then set out for the push to the
top of the next climb, the Col de Vergio, which is the highest pass in Corsica
at 1477 m ASL.

We arrived at the top and
found a big parking lot with a few cars in it and a large statue.It was time for photos but this time we were
assisted by some passing tourists who actually knew how to take pictures.The group photo was not entirely complete as
Steve had zoomed off on his own and Bill was vanning but we were soon together
again for lunch, which we reached with a rapid descent from the col and enjoyed
looking out above a big reservoir.

After lunch we were back on the road and enjoying a fast
descent on good roads.Our route now
took us through the Spelunca Gorge, which was dramatic and very, very hot.As is typical with gorges, a hard wind was
blowing through it and as soon as I turned the corner to enter I could feel my
eyeballs dry out behind my cycling glasses.I was beginning to have some considerable pain with my feet and was
forced to stop at a spring and take off my shoes for a while.This seemed to reduce the swelling and I
dragged myself up the next climb which, in normal circumstances, would have
been pretty easy.

Everyone was waiting at the top and cheered me on as I came
up to the summit.I felt terrible and
had to massage my feet for a while but after some Coke, which I normally never
drink, things did not seem so bad and we had a marvellous descent into Corte, a
university town.I did not pass up the
chance to stick my feet into another cool fountain, to the great merriment of
the other Lost Boys, and then we stopped in town for a beer.

Ruining the drinking water in Corte

All that was left on Day 3 was a final climb to Santo Pietro
di Venaco.Although it was only 6 kms it
seemed to take forever as there were some steep sections, coupled with the fact
that the road was the N193, a main highway with a lot of truck and bus
traffic.I did not really enjoy this so
much and by the time we pulled into our very quirky old hotel, Le Torrent, I
was finished for sure.

Basile giving us the evening briefing

We all sat outside and had some cold drinks on the terrace
to recover.Dr. Chef had already
occupied the very small twin room and had done his laundry, which he hung from
the window to dry.Bill expressed the
group’s disgust at the sight of Dr. Chef’s cycling gear drying on the balcony,
ruining the aesthetic of our hotel, and we all had a good laugh over dinner.

Steve had heard that chestnuts were a specialty of the
island and he had been nagging Basile to see that we would have some on the
menu at some point.At Le Torrent we
enjoyed some excellent food (I had a mountain of pasta with fresh vegetables)
and there was even a kind of chestnut pudding for dessert.

Stevie Z, content with chestnuts

We had done four climbs for the day and enjoyed an amazing
35 km long descent and a scenic gorge so I was able to forget my sore feet and
collapse into bed after our fine dinner and look forward to another day coming.

Your Humble Wheelman

After I cycled from London to Munich at 18 years of age, I decided I always wanted cycling to be a part of my life. It is a pastime that lets you get fit, see the world at your own pace, enjoy exotic machinery and make new friends.
You can contact me at l_reissner@hotmail.com